St. Mary's Parish To Host Ribbon-Cutting For Solar Power System

COLTS NECK—Saint Mary's Parish of Colts Neck, in conjunction with Solis Partners, will host a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the commissioning of its solar power system on Saturday, April 21, at 6 p.m.

The event, which is open to the public, will be held at Saint Mary's, located at 1 Phalanx Road in the Monmouth County Township of Colts Neck. The event will follow a 5 p.m. Mass and will take place outside at the solar power generation system. Representatives from Saint Mary's and the Catholic Diocese of Trenton as well as local politicians and dignitaries will be in attendance. Refreshments will be served immediately afterwards.

Solis Partners designed, installed, operates and owns the 155-kilowatt ground-mounted system, which offsets approximately 90 percent of the parish's annual electricity usage. The system was installed under a third-party financing structure called a Power Purchase Agreement that allows the church to receive all the benefits of solar without any upfront cost.

The Solis PPA allows businesses, churches and schools to adopt solar for no money down and to pay less than they had previously paid for electricity. The PPA allows Saint Mary's to lock in predictable electricity rates for years to come, protecting them from rising energy costs.